Tim Blaine “…a compelling literary piece about a nineteenth-century drifter who returns from Japan to traverse a landscape as foreign to him as the concept of his own impending demise. Readers who appreciate genre-busting, thought-provoking reads…will relish the tone and characters of Never Summer.” -Midwest Book Review
Fireball SummerHonorable Mention
2017 Hollywood Book Festival
James Lynn Durham This is the story of a boy and his pony and the bond they formed during their summers together. It’s about working for what you want and making sacrifices when necessary. There’s action, adventure, hardship, and heartache. The ending leaves you speculating.
Protecting the PlanetWinner
2017 New York Book Festival
Budd Titlow and Mariah Tinger Climate change is often associated with predictions of dire calamities. In the past, however, heroic individuals have stepped forward to meet ominous ecological challenges. This book tells an inspirational story–both of pioneering environmentalists who raised our collective consciousness regarding nature’s value and heroes of today who are working to secure…
Ishtaq; The Second VialHonorable Mention
2017 Hollywood Book Festival
Thomas G. Fournier Scientists working within a secret alien spacecraft buried within the Antarctic permafrost accidentally release a long-dormant entity capable of eliminating all life on earth. As they struggle to survive and prevent the global spread of the organism, the evidence begins to mount that they are fighting more than one form of alien…
Wild Life of Limericks from A to ZRunner-up
2017 Green Book Festival
Jean Merrill The Wild Life of Limericks from A to Z, is a book the entire family to enjoy. The text for each animal is a witty limerick. David Bygott, a world famous primatologist, African tour leader, and artist for National Geographic has rendered each fanciful limerick into a matching illustration. Each drawing has the…
How To Set The World On FireWinner
2017 New York Book Festival
T.K. Riggins A warrior, wizard and two scholars join together and enter the annual competition at The Academy known as The Quest Series. They must travel across the realm to collect magical items, creatures in order to defeat the other competitors and claim championship glory.
Shielded SufferingRunner-up
2017 Beach Book Festival
A.J. Nystrom Certified life coach & former federal agent AJ Nystrom tackles the topics of bullying advocacy, mental health normalization, & suicide prevention from autobiographical, community based, and life coaching perspectives.
LISA…Color Me FastHonorable Mention
2017 New York Book Festival
Penelope Kahler Swan The fascinating and frightening story of a dangerously beautiful woman who fell in love with speed.
Barney the Lopsided MuleHonorable Mention
2017 New York Book Festival
Liz Hughey & Son Barney stars as the lead character in Hughey & Son’s first in a series of children’s books, educating on mules and pack animals, published March 2017. Illustrated by Bonnie Shields, ‘The Mule Artist’, Barney the Lopsided Mule will make children and parent’s grin and laugh with his tall, wide ears, and lopsided saddle. …
Growing Up Twice: Shaping a Future by Reliving My Past Winner
2017 New York Book Festival
Aaron Kirk Douglas gay man mentors a troubled Latino boy in this dramatic memoir. “…raw, honest, and inspirational…” – Clarion Reviews “…hard to walk away from.” — Kirkus Reviews “…his writing is stellar, his narrative voice compelling, and his story filled with emotional depth.” – Readers’ Favorite Winner: LGBT Non-Fiction, SF Book Festival (2017)